even for a single moment
by nashtag
Summary: Thea gets a ride home from the Christmas tree lighting with Alex, and thinks about her brother's engagement.
I wanted to explore what thoughts Thea Queen might have held behind that adorable squinchy face during Oliver's proposal. So here you go! Sorry about that ending, but it wasn't my idea . . .

(Spoilers for 04x09)

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Thea settles into the passenger seat of Alex's Prius, grinning as she watches Oliver and Felicity's limo drive past. She can't resist wiggling her fingers at the tinted windows, even though she is 99% sure that Felicity and Oliver will be too wrapped up in each other to see her wave.

"I expect to see poll numbers jump another 10 percent tomorrow, after that Christmas miracle," Alex says, shaking his head as he buckles his seatbelt. "I can see the headlines now."

Thea cocks her head at him. "That wasn't about the campaign."

"I know," he says, "that's what makes it so perfect." They exchange a smile before Alex looks away to start the car. They're silent for a few blocks, and Thea keeps her eyes fixed on the city as it flashes past outside her window. This isn't the Star City she has grown up in, not with Darhk on the loose, but she can't help but feel a stirring of hope at the sight of the holiday lights twinkling from the homes and businesses that remain. They remind her of the brilliant smile on her brother's face as he walked down from the podium, fingers twined with Felicity's.

"I've known he was going to propose for months," she tells Alex, still not taking her eyes from the street. "He asked me to send him our mother's ring."

"Was that OK with you?" asks Alex.

Thea rests her forehead on the chilly windowpane. "Sure," she says simply. "That ring was meant for Felicity."

She can feel Alex's eyes on her as they slow for a red light, but she doesn't look at him. It is the truth—she's crazy about Felicity, and she's an even bigger fan of how happy the other woman has made her brother—but not all of it. She likes Alex, maybe more than likes him, but he's already seen her hulk out. The last thing she wants to do is spill the whole evil Dad saga, wash away her last hope of Alex seeing her as anything close to normal. So Thea can't explain that she even though thinks of Robert Queen as a father, the symbol of his marriage to her mother—well, let's just say that's a little bit tarnished for her now.

On Felicity's finger, though, Thea feels like the ring has already become something else, something bright and hopeful. There hadn't been much of either of those things in the Queen family, before.

"When they first moved back, I almost spoiled the surprise a thousand times. He had been so excited when he asked me about the ring that I figured he wouldn't last two days without popping the question."

"If I hadn't known he was single, I would have thought they were married the first time I saw them together," says Alex. "What took him so long?"

Thea knew the answer to that one. She'd sent the ring just days before she and Laurel had come to ask Oliver for help with the ghosts, and the move back to Star City must have shaken her brother. After a few weeks with no proposal, Thea had started to feel guilty. Had she been the one to ruin her brother's chance at happiness? She would have been elated by the proposal no matter what, but it definitely gave her an extra thrill to have that worry lifted.

"Apparently, there's nothing like having the love of your life kidnapped by an evil mastermind to get your priorities in line," says Thea wryly, once again opting for the simplest truth.

Alex reaches for her hand, and she lets him take it. "About that—are you sure you're OK? I know you wanted to keep the details quiet, but you didn't even go to a hospital."

"All in a day's work for the sister of the mayor-to-be," Thea jokes, but a shiver runs through her at the memory of the gas rushing in, and the frantic look in her brother's eyes as he pounded on the glass. She had been terrified—for herself, Dig and Felicity, but for Oliver, too. He was strong, and he'd come back from so much, but losing them . . . the others had told her something of what it had been like for Oliver when she was dying, and he'd had Felicity and Dig to support him through that. She didn't want to think about what it would be like for him to be left alone.

"I was worried about you," Alex admits with a frown. "I know you can handle yourself, but there's something about that guy. The way he threw your brother through that window . . . it looked effortless. I still don't know how that's possible."

"Well, the good guys won. Today, anyway." She flashes Alex a smile, trying to chase the serious look out of his grey eyes. Against all odds, it had been a good day, and Thea can't help but feel happy. She's in a car with a hot guy who likes her, and she isn't feeling the blood lust anymore. Darhk had done his worst, and they were all still alive. Oliver has finally reached out for happiness to make Felicity a part of their family for real. Speaking of family, even her evil Dad has proven himself, well, not quite so evil.

Thea allows herself to believe that they might have a few days of peace. Even supervillains take off time for the holidays, right? She enjoys the warmth of these thoughts, and of Alex's hand, as they drift into a comfortable silence. They pull up in front of Laurel's apartment a few minutes later, and he turns to her. "Thea," he says.

She waggles her eyebrows at him. "Laurel's having a late dinner with her dad. Wanna help me affirm that I'm alive?"

Alex grins. "I wouldn't dream of taking advantage of you after a near-death experience."

Thea bites her lower lip. "If you're sure you want to leave me in the house alone, with Darhk on the loose . . ."

Alex's eyes grow dark, and he opens his mouth to reply, but at that second Thea's phone starts to ring. She holds up a finger—"hold that thought"—as she rummages through her bag. Oliver's name is flashing on the screen. "Hey, Ollie, what are you doing calling your sister right now?" she chirps.

There's an odd moment of silence, just long enough to make her worry that this is a butt dial and she is about to hear something she would really rather not, and then: "Thea." Her brother's voice is thick over the line, with none of the lightness she had heard there just minutes before, and Thea knows something is very, very wrong.

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Title from John Mark Nelson's song "After All I've Done," which I imagine playing on the radio during this drive!

Thanks for reading!


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